Moore: I'm Not Going Anywhere

Despite calls for Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore to step down if the allegations of sexual misconduct are true, Moore said he’s not going anywhere.

The Senate candidate released a statement about Thursday’s report in the Washington Post that he stands accused of inappropriate sexual behavior with a minor in 1979, questioning the allegations based on their timing since he’s been in public service for more than 40 years and the political motivations of the paper, given that they have already endorsed his opponent.

However, several other women also came forward with allegations that Moore “pursued them when they were between the ages of 16 and 18and he was in his early 30s, episodes they say they found flattering at the time, but troubling as they got older," the Post reported.

Nevertheless, Moore doubled down Thursday night on Twitter.

“The Obama-Clinton Machine’s liberal media lapdogs just launched the most vicious and nasty round of attacks against me I’ve EVER faced! We are are [sic] in the midst of a spiritual battle with those who want to silence our message,” he wrote.

“The forces of evil will lie, cheat, steal –– even inflict physical harm –– if they believe it will silence and shut up Christian conservatives like you and me,” he continued. “I believe you and I have a duty to stand up and fight back against the forces of evil waging an all-out war on our conservative values! Our nation is at a crossroads right now — both spiritually and politically.”

“Our children and grandchildren’s futures are on the line. So rest assured — I will NEVER GIVE UP the fight!” he added.

The Obama-Clinton Machine’s liberal media lapdogs just launched the most vicious and nasty round of attacks against me I’ve EVER faced!

We are are in the midst of a spiritual battle with those who want to silence our message. (1/4) #ALSen

The main allegations against Moore in the report come from Leigh Corfman: (content warning)

Leigh Corfman says she was 14 years old when an older man approached her outside a courtroom in Etowah County, Ala. She was sitting on a wooden bench with her mother, they both recall, when the man introduced himself as Roy Moore. It was early 1979 and Moore — now the Republican nominee in Alabama for a U.S. Senate seat — was a 32-year-old assistant district attorney...Alone with Corfman, Moore chatted with her and asked for her phone number, she says. Days later, she says, he picked her up around the corner from her house in Gadsden, drove her about 30 minutes to his home in the woods, told her how pretty she was and kissed her. On a second visit, she says, he took off her shirt and pants and removed his clothes. He touched her over her bra and underpants, she says, and guided her hand to touch him over his underwear...Two of Corfman’s childhood friends say she told them at the time that she was seeing an older man, and one says Corfman identified the man as Moore. Wells says her daughter told her about the encounter more than a decade later, as Moore was becoming more prominent as a local judge. (Washington Post)

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Chairman of the National Republican Senate Committee Cory Gardner, and other prominent Republicans are calling for Moore drop out of the special Senate election in Alabama if the allegations are true.